Naples – Yet another serious attack yesterday inside the Secondigliano prison, where seven prison officers were injured by an inmate's fury, has sparked a veritable storm of controversy over the management of Italian prisons.
Trade unions, once again, point the finger at overcrowding, chronic staff shortages, and the lack of adequate equipment, expressing solidarity with the officers and calling for immediate, structural interventions.
The brutal attack in the reception area
According to the unions' reconstruction, the violence erupted in the Reception Ward of the Secondigliano Penitentiary Center. When the cell was opened to allow the inmate, of Italian origin, to walk around, he violently punched an officer in the face.
The other six officers, who immediately responded to the scene, were also attacked during the scuffle. All seven officers suffered varying degrees of injury—including a broken hand and broken teeth, with a prognosis of 20 to 30 days—and were rushed to Cardarelli Hospital in Naples for treatment. The officers' prompt response and professionalism, the unions emphasize, prevented the situation from escalating further.
Yes.NAPPe: "It's no longer an isolated incident, the system is collapsing."
Luigi Vargas , Deputy Secretary General of Si.NAPPe, firmly stated: “What happened today in Secondigliano can no longer be dismissed as an 'isolated incident.' It is the direct consequence of a prison system that is progressively collapsing under the weight of staff shortages, the absence of adequate operational tools, and a dangerous underestimation of the working conditions of the Penitentiary Police Force. Week after week, we are counting injured colleagues, but the Administration seems to have lost its sense of emergency. Si.NAPPe will not remain silent.”
National Secretary Pasquale Gall also added: "We are tired of empty words and ritual solidarity. Today we forcefully call on the Department of Penitentiary Administration and the Ministry of Justice to take immediate, concrete action: provision of non-lethal deterrent devices such as tasers, staff reinforcements, a review of custody models, and targeted training for the management of particularly aggressive individuals. We cannot accept that the uniform is trampled upon in the daily institutional indifference. The Penitentiary Police deserve respect, safety, and dignity."
OSAPP: "Unsustainable working conditions, we ask the Minister and the Government to intervene."
Vincenzo Palmieri , regional secretary of OSAPP (Autonomous Union of Penitentiary Police), emphasized how the grave situation we are experiencing highlights an increasingly worrying reality: the growing number of critical incidents and assaults within penitentiary institutions, particularly those in the Campania region.
Palmieri emphasized that the "working conditions of prison officers have long been unsustainable," reiterating that "the system is in a state of perpetual emergency and urgent, structural interventions are needed to restore dignity to prison officers who are tired of suffering gratuitous violence on a daily basis."
The OSAPP secretary also emphasized that, if officers had been adequately trained to deal with such situations, the serious damage suffered could have been avoided, launching a direct appeal to Minister Nordio and Prime Minister Meloni to "stop the outrage of the Penitentiary Police in prisons, and particularly in Campania's penitentiaries."
CON.SI.PE: "The system is collapsing, urgent and decisive measures are needed."
CON.SI.PE. – Confederation of Penitentiary Unions, through Vice President Luigi Castaldo, National Director Vincenzo Santoriello, and Regional Director Faraldo Bruno, also expressed "utmost concern and the firmest outrage" over the attack. The confederation reiterated that these incidents "can no longer be considered isolated events, but rather represent a clear symptom of a collapsing prison system, plagued by structural deficiencies, chronic staffing shortages, inadequate equipment, and serious security management issues."
Luigi Castaldo and Vincenzo Santoriello stated: "Today's attack is further evidence of working conditions that have become unsustainable. Daily exposure to extremely high risks, in the absence of adequate prevention and protection measures, can no longer be accepted. An immediate change of pace is needed: lip service is no longer sufficient; concrete, systemic, and non-emergency interventions are needed."
Faraldo Bruno added: "The Secondigliano Penitentiary Center is a particularly complex facility, characterized by an exceptional promiscuity of criminals. In an already challenging context, high summer temperatures further contribute to increased tensions. It is now essential to consider implementing stricter and more effective deterrent regulations, capable of effectively combating incidents of violence that, too often, target the prison officer on duty. We can no longer tolerate the daily disregard of the prison uniform amidst widespread indifference."
CON.SI.PE. has therefore made a pressing appeal to the Department of Penitentiary Administration and the Ministry of Justice to adopt urgent and decisive measures to ensure the safety, dignity, and professionalism of the Penitentiary Police Force.
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I agree that there are serious problems in the prison system. Officers deserve to work safely, and institutions must listen to their requests to improve overall conditions within prisons.
Reading about the attack in Secondigliano, I wonder how the situation in Italian prisons is so dire. The working conditions of prison officers are unacceptable, and immediate solutions are needed. Intervention is essential.